Henry Cejudo names his greatest bantamweight of all time, reveals next move

Henry Cejudo names the greatest bantamweight in UFC history alongside his next move within the division.

Cejudo is coming off a split-decision loss to the division’s champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. The fight marked the Olympic gold medalist’s first fight since retiring in 2020.

In 2018, Cejudo attained his first UFC world title when edging a split decision over then-flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227. The 36-year-old then continued to cement his legacy by defending the flyweight title by knocking out TJ Dillashaw.

Seeking a new challenge “Triple C” moved to bantamweight and claimed champ-champ status by defeating Marlon Moraes for the vacant bantamweight title, defending it against Dominick Cruz the following year before announcing his retirement post-fight at UFC 249.

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Henry Cejudo reveals greatest UFC bantamweight

Despite having a strong claim to being the best bantamweight in the company’s history, Cejudo humbly doesn’t place himself at the top of the pile. In a recent interview with The Schmo, Cejduo placed his former opponent on the throne instead of Cruz.

“I don’t have that many title defenses. I only have one title defence. I only defended my belt once, so unfortunate to exit myself out there, but I think, I mean, you would have to give it to, you’d have to give it to Aljamain. I think people talk about Dominick Cruz a lot, but he was hurt a lot of the time like, he was like hurt for years, bro.”

Following his loss to Sterling last month, Cejudo made it clear he was around to stay, and he was eager to throw down with Sterling’s teammate and No. 1 ranked bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili. However, with the Georgian undergoing hand surgery, it left uncertainty if Cejudo was willing to wait.

The next move

“If it’s going to take too long for Merab, then we’re going to have to maybe start thinking of other, you know, potential matches, but you know, my goal is to wait for that dude. It’s a good storyline. I know what they both bring to the table, and I got a little glimpse of what kind of Merab would be like even though he has a different style, but I’m going to wait, Schmo. I’m going to beat up his butt plug, and then I’m going to get my belt back.”

If Dvashivili’s best friend and teammate weren’t the current champion, the 32-year-old would have likely had his opportunity to fight for gold. Still, both Sterling and Dvashvili remain strong in voicing their loyalty and bond means more than money and belts.

Do you agree with Henry Cejudo? Is Aljamain Sterling the greatest bantamweight of all time? Let us know in the comments!